A New Year's Proposal
by owlsong489
Summary: It's New Year's Eve and James is hoping that he can set up next year to be just as amazing as the last.


**A/N:** Everything here belongs to JK Rowling. Except for Gemma O'Malley, who belongs to Ally/prongsridesagain. And in case you haven't read her story, you should go do it. Now. Like right now. Or after you finish this story.

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><p>New Years 1978<p>

It was New Years Eve, and the Potter Manor was abuzz with plans and decorating for the annual New Years Eve party. The Potters were not obnoxiously rich, but coming from an old pureblood line, they had plenty of funds and space to host such a party. Most of the guests each year were Ministry folk, friends of Mr. and Mrs. Potter, plus plenty of other well-known names in the wizarding world. However, with the rise in muggleborn attacks and constant threats from an untraceable group of Death Eaters, attendance was expected to be pretty low this year.

While Mrs. Potter helped instruct the house elves with the final decorations in the entrance hall and the parlor, James Potter and Sirius Black were lounging in one of the old bedrooms upstairs. Well, Sirius was lounging. James was nervously pacing across the floorboards, leaving a worn-out trail on the old Oriental rug.

"Prongs, mate. You've got to calm down."

James paused mid stride and turned to look at his best mate who was sprawled across the bed that James had slept in as a child. He shook his head, taking one of his hands out of his pocket and pointing it at Sirius.

"No. I can't. This might not work. I've waited forever to get to this point, and what if she says no?"

"She won't say no, you bloody fool. Evans has it just as bad as you. Honestly, I can't understand why or how, but I think it's pretty clear where this is going. Hell, I've already got my dress robes picked out. Er, well, Gems has them picked out."

"So you think she'll really say yes?" he asked, sitting on the old love seat in the corner. From his other pocket he pulled out a small blue velvet box, flipping it open to reveal a small but beautiful diamond ring.

"Yes. I really think Lily Evans will say yes. Now hurry up and finish getting dressed. I don't want to be late and have to listen to the girls or to your mum yell at us on New Years."

James got up and pulled his shirt off the hanger by the closet. He smiled at the old Wimbourne Wasps poster hanging on the wall by his closet. He remembered the day over summer holidays after first year when his father had taken him and his friends to the big match against the Appleby Arrows. That had been a crazy match, and the whole day had been full of excitement—more excitement than his twelve-year-old self had ever experienced before. He shook his head, laughing at a small-framed picture of the Marauders on his bookshelf. His father had taken it the same day, and the boys all stood decked out in black and yellow Wasps gear with huge goofy smiles, arms slung over each other's shoulders.

Walking over to the mirror to straighten his tie, he caught sight of an old photo of Lily, which he had magically stuck to the wall beside the mirror. It had been taken half way through sixth year at Hogwarts, when their friendship had really started to blossom. They had met at the Three Broomsticks one weekend—with both sets of friends in tow, of course, but had somehow ended up sandwiched together in the inside corner of one of the big booths. Gemma had quickly managed to snap a picture before either of them had noticed. James smiled at the photo, laughing at the way he and Lily had kept sending each other shy smiles throughout the afternoon. He laughed when Lily leaned over to smack him hard on the back of the head, after he had leaned towards her and no doubt said some ridiculous comment in her ear. Most of his belongings had been moved to the flat he shared with Sirius in London, but he said a quiet thank you to his past self for leaving this picture stuck to the wall. It gave him some strength and confidence for what he was about to do.

About ten minutes later, James joined Sirius at the end of the hallway, the ring box securely tucked into the inner pocket of his dress jacket. James gave him a smile, nervously adjusting his lapel for the twentieth time. Sirius laughed, clapping him on the shoulder.

"You'll be fine mate. Nothing to worry about. Come on, I think I spotted the girls walk in a minute ago," Sirius said, nodding his head towards the large wooden door at the bottom of the curved staircase.

They made their way slowly down to the hall below, gently pushing through the crowd till they saw Lily and Gemma chatting in the far corner.

"Hey love," James said, snaking an arm around Lily's shoulder and giving her a small kiss. "Hey G. Happy New Years Eve!"

"And to you too James!" said Gemma. She turned to Sirius beside her, pulling him down for a quick kiss of her own. "Don't you two boys just look dashing tonight?"

Lily laughed, leaning closer into James. "That they do! Very charming."

James smiled down at her and momentarily lost control of all other thoughts. He could stare into her beautiful green eyes for the rest of his life and still be the happiest man on earth.

They were startled apart by the sound of Sirius laughing and saying something like "It's like sixth year all over again." They looked up just in time to see Gemma elbow Sirius hard in the ribs.

"Watch it, O'Malley. You don't want to damage the goods," he said as his hand slid down her back and she jumped into the air suspiciously.

Lily laughed and turned back to James, who still had a bit of a glazed look in his eyes. "Everything okay?" she asked. When he nodded and smiled back at her, she grabbed his hand. "Come on, Potter. I'm thirsty and I demand some champagne." And with that, the two couples slowly made their way to the far end of the parlor, where a small bar had been set up.

Three hours later, and the party was in full swing. For most of the guests, that meant chatting with Ministry co-workers over the latest office gossip or in the more pessimistic circles, debating the changes in defensive moves against the growing amount of Death Eaters. The younger crowd, namely the Marauders and their dates and a few younger Aurors and junior Ministry employees, were busy on the dance floor.

It was nearing 11:30 when Lily pulled James aside, saying she needed some air, and preferably a place to sit for a bit. With one look over their shoulders they saw Sirius and Gemma dancing like fools, and off the beat, to whatever song was playing at the moment. Sirius leaned down to whisper something to Gemma and she let out a loud laugh, smacking him on the chest. But they both looked up to smile and wave at their friends. Lily waved and then turned back towards the door as they made their way out of the room. With one last smirk, James saw both Sirius and Gemma give him the thumbs up.

James and Lily made their way out to the patio, which had been cleared of the heavy snow earlier that week and magically warmed to allow the guests more space. The patio was empty, what with the party being so small compared to those in the past. The couple took a seat on the low stonewall, looking out at the snow covered garden and stand of trees.

"Remember last New Years?" asked James, nudging Lily with a smile.

"How could I possibly forget? Our first Christmas and New Years together. I still can't believe you talked your way out of detention with McGonagall. Especially after you and the boys charmed all the Christmas trees in the Great Hall to sing those dirty songs."

James laughed thinking back on their holiday prank last year. Apparently holiday songs with dirty lyrics are frowned upon by the Hogwarts staff-something that Dumbledore had failed to mention at the start-of-term feast in September. Otherwise they might not have—no, scratch that. They still would have done it.

"Yeah, that was pretty impressive. I'm sure if Dumbledore hadn't started singing along, we may have had to spend the first day of the New Year cleaning the trophy room."

"Well, I'm very glad you didn't. That would have really put a damper on our celebrations."

James' booming laugh echoed across the courtyard. "Oh Miss Evans, I'm sure it would have been equally awful for the both us." He smirked at her, and her face flushed red.

"You know, I really miss Hogwarts. I miss the classes and-" she paused when James laughed again. "Oh shut it. I do really miss the classes. Not the homework, but definitely learning all those new things. And I miss the feasts, oh do I ever miss that food."

"Yeah, no offense, but you and Gemma are not nearly as good at cooking as all those house elves."

Lily laughed. "No need to tell me that!"

"I miss it too Lily. I really miss being able to spend all my time with the guys, and of course with you. Its nice having our flats, but I miss just having you there."

"James Potter, getting sentimental. Oh, if only Sirius were here to laugh at you right now."

"Ha ha, Lily, very funny. I know for a fact that he feels the same way. You might be surprised how much he misses Hogwarts too. All those darkened corridors for him and Gemma to sneak off to."

"Right right," Lily trailed off laughing.

But just looking at her face, James knew something had shifted, something they both couldn't avoid. It was dangerous out here, where the threat of attack was growing by the day. They couldn't hide behind the safe walls of Hogwarts anymore. And they both knew that, especially since joining the Order after leaving school in June.

"You know that I'm not going anywhere, right Lily? You've got me for good," James said after a thoughtful pause, brushing her cheek with his thumb.

"Yes James, I know. And I'm here for good too," she laughed, looking down at her hands. "Bet you didn't see that coming all those years ago."

"No, but I hoped." James leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss.

Across the courtyard they could hear excited voices filtering from inside the party. It was nearly midnight. Only a few more minutes left of 1978. It was now or never.

Pulling away, James held Lily's hands in his, rubbing circles on the back of her hands. He stared down at her, and she sent him a curious look.

"What is it James? Is something wrong?"

"No. No, nothing's wrong."

"Maybe we should head back inside. It's almost midnight."

"Wait, Lily," he said, pulling her back down beside him. "Lily, I meant what I said about not going anywhere. I can't imagine not having you in my life, and I don't ever want that to be the case. You make me happier than anything in the world, especially with all the madness around us. This year has absolutely been the best in my life, and there's only one thing that could possibly make it better."

Lily's eyes grew big as James dropped to his knee in front of her. He pulled out the small blue velvet box. The crowd inside the house was getting louder by the minute, but the only thing that Lily registered was here in front of her.

"Lily Evans, I love you so much. And I promise that I'll be here until our dying day. Merlin, that was cheesy, wasn't it?" James laughed at himself, nervously running his hand through his hair and smirking at the wide-eyed but excited look on Lily's face. She nodded, playing along, but she could hardly contain the words threatening to come spilling from her mouth.

"For old times sake, Evans. Will you marry me? And please don't say you'd rather marry the giant squid because I'd know that you're lying. And because that would really ruin the start of the New Year."

"Oh yes, you stupid toerag. I'll marry you." And with that she flung her arms around his neck.

And in the background people cheered and music played and even a few fireworks went off in the distance.

Sirius and Gemma stood at the window, smiling out at their friends.

"About time, don't you think?" asked Sirius, pulling his girlfriend close into him.

"Yep, I'd say so. Though I don't know what I'll do when they get married. I'll have to find someplace new to live…" she looked up at him, her blue eyes flashing mischievously.

"Well, Miss O'Malley, I think I might have a solution for that." And he pulled her in for a kiss of their own.

"Happy New Year, Sirius."

"And a happy New Year to you too, Leprechaun." And with that, they walked out to the patio to celebrate with their best friends.


End file.
